


Stuck with U

by KatiePaterow



Series: Unseen Footage: Ben Gross [3]
Category: Never Have I Ever (TV)
Genre: 1x10, F/M, finding nemo - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:40:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24113695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatiePaterow/pseuds/KatiePaterow
Summary: Ben and Devi watch Finding Nemo shortly after Devi moved in to the Gross mansion.
Relationships: Ben Gross/Devi Vishwakumar
Series: Unseen Footage: Ben Gross [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1734304
Comments: 8
Kudos: 77





	Stuck with U

This day, Ben decided, was the most unusual day he’d ever experience in his 16 years of existence. He thought he already did after crying his eyes out in the middle of an appointment to get rid of the biggest and nastiest pimple he had ever seen, but boy was he wrong. When he got himself ready for school this morning, he was still reeling with certain drunken birthday after-party realizations which he enthusiastically believed that he would be able to face head on come morning after. Of course that hadn’t happened, because that afternoon he woke up, he chose to forget everything until Monday. Seeing Devi, though, made it easier to both want to forget and not forget, if that even made sense. Thinking of her was one thing, but actually being physically around her made it clear why he should probably… stop feeling things but at the same time, she made it impossible.

He thought to himself, she’s already there, why not say something? Wrong decision, by the way, because everything that came out of his mouth sounded like the dumbest things ever, which was a shame since he considered himself to be quite a slick talker. Also, did he just say ‘ _thang_ ’? In a conversation he was trying so hard to not be awkward? Thankfully, though, Devi cut him off from failing miserably in acting natural by, unexpectedly, asking him if she could move in with him, which of course is what lead Ben to this: a mix between trying to process everything while Devi gets her things settled in the room next door and finishing homework.

Despite his inability to focus on one thought at a time, Ben got his assignment done. He still refused to move even after almost five minutes, though, but a knock disturbed him from staring intently at the white walls of his room and his train of thought (or the lack thereof). He yelled a quick acknowledgement at the person on the other side of the room and waited for a response. The door opened unannounced and Devi’s grinning head popped in. “’Sup, Gross. What do you do here for fun?” She smirked at him teasingly as she entered the room and stopped only as she’s directly in front of him. She shook her head as she saw the mess of papers sprawled on his bed. “Oh my God, please don’t tell me it’s doing homework.”

“You wanna do something right now? But shouldn’t you be, like, resting or something?”

She frowned at him. “I would, but I’m too cool to be asleep at-“ she paused to check her phone, “8 o’clock. Especially not while in a house without parents. Please don’t suggest something like swimming, though. I actually am too tired for that."

His filter must be affected by being in her presence, because he suggested, "We could watch Finding Nemo like you've wanted before."

For a split second, Devi looked at him as if he’s lost his mind, rightfully so, and he couldn’t help but expect her to scream “HELL NO!” yet she told him, "Sure," he felt relieved until Devi continued, "Unless it brings back bad memories?"

"Oh my God, Devi, I'm so sorr-"

"Dude, I'm just fucking with you. Of course I'm down to see a big ass Nemo."

* * *

Although he trusted himself more now that he’s sober, he still sat a seat apart from Devi, using the huge bowl of popcorn Patty prepared for both of them as his excuse. He knew he did the right thing when he became aware that he was more engrossed with Devi’s excitement towards everything she found cool rather than the movie. But he couldn’t fully blame himself for that one especially since he never really found the movie appealing in the first place. “You know what really bothers me with this movie? The scientific inaccuracies it has in terms of this species’ reproduction.”

She grabbed a handful of the popcorn before she glared at him. “It’s a movie, Gross. You’re supposed to watch it for the plot, not deep-dive the number of factual errors it has.”

It was his turn to roll his eyes at her. “It doesn’t hurt to be correct, though.”

Used to his usual attitude and their constant banters, Devi chose to laugh at him this time because she thought this was a hundred times way past ridiculous. “Dude, what the fuck? It’s a children’s animated movie! Kids don’t have to know that Clownfish anatomy is way more complex and that their relationships are more straightforward than the human race’s, in which case for us the former and the latter are both entirely dependent on certain influences like norms, constructs, beliefs, etc. Also, this is not an opportunity to make you seem smarter, especially not with something that has already been dissected by experts and theorists for years.”

Ben was annoyed about how right she was, but he couldn’t stop but feel fond of how amazing she actually is for the first time. He liked this way too much but he would never admit that. “Shut up. You absolutely just wanted to sound way smarter than I did.”

She punched his arm. “Nice of you to finally admit that I am smarter.”

And so, more of their arguments took place but now they were laughing at the end of it instead of pissing each other off.

Following the conclusion of the film, both of them talked some more about anything and everything, but mostly about Ben’s home life. “So, you really don’t have anyone else with you here that often?”

Ben shook his head no.

“That sucks, bro. And you never get the urge to lash out? Tell your parents exactly how you feel?”

“They have a _super_ busy social and professional life. You know, being popular doesn’t really give you a lot of time at home.”

“As if you know anything about being popular.” Devi scoffed while Ben tried to sound as natural as possible when he laughed, but instead of gleeful, he sounded more like he was strangled.

“Okay, you are definitely acting weird. What’s up? Did your brain just malfunction? ‘Cause if that’s the case, you should do that more often. Especially in class.”

Ben snorted at the statement and attempted to stir the conversation to any other direction except the one it was headed to. “David, you wish had my brains. It is, after all, the superior one.”

“Fine. I know when someone doesn’t want to answer a question. I can totally back off.”

He initially planned to tell her something sarcastic like, “sure you can” but instead, he settled with, “Thanks.”

“Hey, what are you thanking me for? Bro, I should be the one thanking you! You didn’t even hesitate when I asked if I could move in.” She exclaimed, punching him on the shoulder again, harder this time.

Remembering the opposite, he teased, “I didn’t?”

“You did, but you get my point.”

“Actually I don’t.”

“Whatever.”

“Why are you being so nice to me?” That was one question Ben had not seen coming. He could think of many reasons why but most of them lead to one thing and that is that something had totally changed between them in the past few weeks and for absolutely different ways for either of them. As he’s established in his mind before, he was never going to admit what was going on inside of him, so he chose to deflect again.

“What can I say? It comes naturally. I’m really just a genuinely great person inside and out.”

They stared at each other for at least a few seconds before Ben recognized Devi’s unspoken genuine gratitude and reassured her, “You’re welcome, David.” He stood up and announced that he was "hitting the hay" and told her she should do the same.

“Good night, Gross.” She said as she closed the door to the guest room and Ben obsessed over it until he dozed off.

**Author's Note:**

> Um so... this was unexpectedly hard to make. Especially the argument over clownfish, but I got it done, so i hope it makes just even a little sense, enough to make u guys not hate my guts. <3 I already have another fic coming soon, so heads up ig
> 
> Also, this was also absolutely inspired by the last part of "Stuck with U" by Ariana and JB (hence the title) and 1x08 where Devi gushed about imagining big fish Nemo
> 
> Also also, if u saw this twice, I was drunk on sleepiness that I posted two versions of this


End file.
